First muzzle loader- Got about 56 questions.

[Bullshop Junior]

I just picked up my first muzzle loader. A 58 caliber Big Bertha. We call it Big Bertha because it really is a bunch of guns put together. The barrel is off a ANTONIO ZOLI & Co. The lock is a spring field, with the eagle. the trigger guard is off a T/C hawkins. The stock I am not sure of, For it has no name, and the serial # in not the same as the lock or the barrel, and I think that the ram rod is home made. I really like the ram rod. Solid brass, and heavy for them stubborn balls. It looks like a Civil war carbine.
Now for stuff that I got with the rifle, and made, I have-

Powder horn - A thing that a made for keeping a little bit of black powder in my pocket in case the pyrodex does not work, and I need the black for an emergence - 2 cans of musket caps - half a can of black powder - Half a can of pyrodex (put that it the horn) - a patch worm - And I made some funnel things that screw on the black powder or pyrodex can, so I can pour the powder directly from the can to the horn.Now I have some questions

Is there any thing else that I need for equipment? I am going to get another can of pyrodex next time I go to town, and I also have on the list a aluminum funnel, powder measure, ball puller, and a ball starter. Is there any thing else that I need?
What diameter do I want my balls? We have .570" And a .575".
Can I make the balls out of WW? (the rifle is rifled, and has three real wide grooves in the barrel.)
What diameter do I want my conicals? I have the same choices as above.
Can I make my conicals out of WW?I have a bunch more questions written down some where, but I lost the paper. when I find it I will ask them.
Thank you!
Daniel/Bs Jr.

[44man]

You have to measure the bore before deciding on a boolit or ball and patch. Best to use pure lead.

[mooman76]

I think a ball puller is a waist. Try pulling a ball some time and you will see. If you forget the powder and you will if you shoot at all. Either remove the nipple and put a pinch of powder in(that will be enough to fire the ball out) or get one of those CO2 things.
I use .575 in my .58 but each gun is different as to what is best.
You especially being in AK should get a capper. Holds the caps so you can put them on. Try putting a cap on at -20.
WW's work on either but pure lead is best
Minie's should be just undersized to the barrel taking fouling into consideration. I believe mine are .575 also and Maxies are just oversize to the barrel
You will need a good lube and opinions very there. Crisco is not the best but will work in a pinch
Maybe a BP book on Muzzel loading
I could send you some balls and Minies if you like.
Good luck on your new gun!

[MT Gianni]

Daniel, Scrounge all the plastic 35mm film containers that you can find. It's harder now with digital but they are still there. It is a perfect container for a measured amount of powder for a quick reload. Try round balls first and get a feel for how it groups. Gianni.

[Bullshop Junior]

I think a ball puller is a waist. Try pulling a ball some time and you will see. If you forget the powder and you will if you shoot at all. Either remove the nipple and put a pinch of powder in(that will be enough to fire the ball out) or get one of those CO2 things.
I use .575 in my .58 but each gun is different as to what is best.
You especially being in AK should get a capper. Holds the caps so you can put them on. Try putting a cap on at -20.
WW's work on either but pure lead is best
Minie's should be just undersized to the barrel taking fouling into consideration. I believe mine are .575 also and Maxies are just oversize to the barrel
You will need a good lube and opinions very there. Crisco is not the best but will work in a pinch
Maybe a BP book on Muzzel loading
I could send you some balls and Minies if you like.
Good luck on your new gun!

I do not think that they make a capper for the musket caps, But I will look. The thing that I made for holding black powder in my pocket is for stuck balls. I just thought that i might need the puller, but the I think that I will scratch that one. My dad never uses his any way. I have access to some of the best Black powder lube in the world, living at the bull shop, so need not worry there..

As I was sitting here typing I thought of some more questions.

Who makes a nipple wrench for musket caps? This is not percussion caps, and I do not have the wrong name. This gun takes the big Ol top hatted musket cap, that looks, and is about the same size as a shot gun primer.
can I use a chase patch for a ball?
what is the best brand and type of capper?Thank you,
Daniel/BS Jr.

[piwo]

Daniel, Scrounge all the plastic 35mm film containers that you can find. It's harder now with digital but they are still there. It is a perfect container for a measured amount of powder for a quick reload. Try round balls first and get a feel for how it groups. Gianni.

If you know someone who is diabetic, they will test their blood sugars. Some of the manufacturers supply their test strips in litte containers that are even better then the 35MM cases becasue they have little lids that are attached (and won't get lost) and you just "flick" them open (yet they seal quite securely). My wife saves them for me and they are the BEST! Good Luck!

[versifier]

T/C makes cappers for musket caps, also nipple wrenches. I use my ball puller when needed - I don't like to, but it works well and doesn't need replacement CO2 cartridges (though they are a whole heck of a lot easier to use). It gets used at the range at least once a year, but fortunately for the last few it hasn't been me that needed it. :-D Sooner or later everyone loads a ball without a charge under it, usually with the largest possible audience to applaud. [smilie=1: Short starters can be made out of hardwood and a dowel pretty easily. I believe Butler Creek makes tubes in .58 that hold powder and ball and have snap-on caps at each end - the T/C ones are better, but I don't think they make them that large. You can start the ball with the short starter right through the tube - saves time and is easier in cold weather.

[ktw]

what is the best brand and type of capper?

Ted Cash makes the best commercial cappers
http://www.tdcmfg.com/cgi-bin/cart/agora.cgi?cart_id=9642944.17443*tx8X27&product=ShootingSupplies

You can also make a good, very functional capper by punching appropriate sized holes in a very thick piece of leather. Make the holes small enough to hold the caps securely. Shape can be whatever allows you access the nipple and is convenient to carry.

A half hour cruising around on Track of the Wolf's site will provide you with everything you need (and many things you don't) or at least give you ideas for making your own accessories from scratch.

-ktw

[shooter575]

Jr,Most of the zoli barrels run between .577-.582 minor diameter.Most people use a .562 RB and adjust the patch thickness to fit.I use minnes in all of my 58s,soft lead sized to .001-.002 under bore size.Musket nipples[cones] are 1/4" across the flats.A #10 cone adapter can be had for using the smaller caps also.I have used a 1/4" wrench to remove a cone before in a pinch.A 4 way wrench for water shutoffs has a 1/4" hole that works well also..Allways put some never sieze on the cone and it will allways come out easy.Same with breech plugs.
One thing to check is an a few of the Zoli barrels I have worked on is they ran the hole for the breech plug too deep.This gap will grab your patches right off your cleaning jag and will hold powder residue.I just fixed one of these for a buddy so let me know if you have this problem.

[Bullshop Junior]

Jr,Most of the zoli barrels run between .577-.582 minor diameter.Most people use a .562 RB and adjust the patch thickness to fit.I use minnes in all of my 58s,soft lead sized to .001-.002 under bore size.Musket nipples[cones] are 1/4" across the flats.A #10 cone adapter can be had for using the smaller caps also.I have used a 1/4" wrench to remove a cone before in a pinch.A 4 way wrench for water shutoffs has a 1/4" hole that works well also..Allways put some never sieze on the cone and it will allways come out easy.Same with breech plugs.
One thing to check is an a few of the Zoli barrels I have worked on is they ran the hole for the breech plug too deep.This gap will grab your patches right off your cleaning jag and will hold powder residue.I just fixed one of these for a buddy so let me know if you have this problem.
Mine does not have a breach plug. It is not an in line. I do not think that any of the traditional rifles have breech plugs.
I may be wrong for this is all new to me, and my apologies if I am being rude.
Daniel/BS Jr.

[ktw]

Mine does not have a breach plug. It is not an in line. I do not think that any of the traditional rifles have breech plugs.
I may be wrong for this is all new to me, and my apologies if I am being rude.
Daniel/BS Jr.

The traditional guns do not have a user-removable breach pug like an inline. They do have a semi-permanent plug screw which closes the breach of the barrel and which is part of the tang. This is also called a breach plug. Picture here http://www.trackofthewolf.com/(S(4hpr0q55adsz0u55m1bgwr55))/categories/partList.aspx?catID=14&subID=143&styleID=511

The breach plug on a traditional gun is installed as part of building a rifle from parts. It is not something you remove for routine cleaning.

-ktw

[mooman76]

I didn't realize you take the big musket caps so you may not need the capper after all. If you can work the caps without (just fingers or gloves) you will be fine.

[shooter575]

Here is a yeck breech plug removal tool with a breech removed on a Zoli type Zouave barrel


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/shooter575/bb74f39a.jpg

I allways pull the plug on a new to me barrel to check for any problems.{Be amazed in what you
find in a used barrel} thereafter maybe once a year if used in compition ie 1000-2000 rounds
later.That is how I found out about the long bored/short breechplug problem.So far I have found
three of them.Also having a easy to remove breech makes short work of clearing a blown skirt
on a minne.Here is a pic of a blown skirt on a Richmond carbine.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/shooter575/skirtassy.jpg

[Bullshop Junior]

Here is a yeck breech plug removal tool with a breech removed on a Zoli type Zouave barrel


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/shooter575/bb74f39a.jpg

I allways pull the plug on a new to me barrel to check for any problems.{Be amazed in what you
find in a used barrel} thereafter maybe once a year if used in compition ie 1000-2000 rounds
later.That is how I found out about the long bored/short breechplug problem.So far I have found
three of them.Also having a easy to remove breech makes short work of clearing a blown skirt
on a minne.Here is a pic of a blown skirt on a Richmond carbine.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/shooter575/skirtassy.jpg
So, How di I check to see if mine has the problem? You said that you can fix that so I am going to ask you.

I think my gun does not have that problem, because when dad had it we shot it quite a bit with thin deep skirted minnies, and had no problem.
Daniel/BS Jr.

[shooter575]

Jr,If yor bent a small L hook on a wire you could feel this gap between the breech plug and the start of the rifleing.But the only way to tell for sure is to pull the plug.The one I just fixed had a .145 gap.The flame vent was right in the middle of that gap.So I turned up a piece of crs that just cleared the threads.Parted off a.145 section.I tried this for fit and then used a .010 copper shim punched out with a punch to act as a crush washer between plug and spacer.
This now blocked the vent so I had to redrill it through the spacer.Be carefull here as you can bugger up the cone threads.
Anyway this barrel has a nice smooth breech face that is tight at the end of the rifleing.This is somthing that you and your Dad could do if needed.
I would not of bothered with this as I would usualy just send the barrel out to be relined.But this one shot pretty good as is but just crudded so fast and was a pain to clean.It was a interesting project though.

[Bullshop Junior]

Jr,If yor bent a small L hook on a wire you could feel this gap between the breech plug and the start of the rifleing.But the only way to tell for sure is to pull the plug.The one I just fixed had a .145 gap.The flame vent was right in the middle of that gap.So I turned up a piece of crs that just cleared the threads.Parted off a.145 section.I tried this for fit and then used a .010 copper shim punched out with a punch to act as a crush washer between plug and spacer.
This now blocked the vent so I had to redrill it through the spacer.Be carefull here as you can bugger up the cone threads.
Anyway this barrel has a nice smooth breech face that is tight at the end of the rifleing.This is somthing that you and your Dad could do if needed.
I would not of bothered with this as I would usualy just send the barrel out to be relined.But this one shot pretty good as is but just crudded so fast and was a pain to clean.It was a interesting project though.
Well, I am not going to worry about it. I ran a bunch of patches down the barrel a little wile ago, and I had no problem.
Speaking of running patches down the barrel, what I was doing was trying to get a rifling twist reading. Came out at 1-60". I just went over to MM Dans sight, and it looks like I can through about a 400 grain chunk of lead out of there, But every design was different. With some I could get almost 430 grains, and with others I only got about 380gn.
Daniel/BS Jr.

[9.3X62AL]

I have a Zoli Zouave in 58, it shoots .570 RB's with .015 patching VERY well. Don't sell the RB short, 285 grains of soft metal won't do ANY critter any good at all. The old style Minies do all right, about 3" at 50 yards, kinda like Foster slugs in a 12 gauge smoothbore. RB's do better, my rifle will do 3" at 100 yards easily. Load is 65 grains of Goex 2F with the RB's.

[Underclocked]

BS Jr, you need to get a good rifle like your Dad did. ;)

[Buckshot]

..............BS Jr, if I'm not mistaken the Zoli Zouaves are a 66" twist. They are a lot of fun, and if set up right can be very accurate. Best accuracy is definetely had with scaled slugs. Voids above the core pin will play havoc otherwise.

Here's a few pictures of some fooling around stuff.

http://www.fototime.com/6BF0D8313CD43F3/standard.jpg

http://www.fototime.com/17E80CAACAACD9A/standard.jpg

http://www.fototime.com/32564452265CF41/standard.jpg

http://www.fototime.com/C75E453AEFB1E35/standard.jpg

All the above were shot with a Parker Hale P58 Enfield (5 groove, 48" twist). I also have a A.Zoli Zouave, but I have not worked with it a whole lot, but the little I did shows me it WILL shoot!

.....................Buckshot

[Moose]

Good luck with the 58 cal! I've used one since the late '60s (an underhammer Hopkins/Allen/Numrich) and have used that Lyman 575611 since it was a new item - that and an old Ideal 400 gr SWC minie. Got the 575611 to hit a #10 tomato can every time at 100 yds, but haven't gotten the 400 gr to shoot for beans (18" at 100 yds). One thing to bear in mind, if you are just starting out - More is not necessarily better. It's real easy to make it murder at both ends. Remember the old service load was 400-500gr minie and 60gr BP, and it did the job. And why pyrodex? Either use the real thing or try 777 (That's just an opinion, folks... )